1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an emergency medical kit for self-administration or assisted administration of breathable oxygen. A medication is also provided for relief of symptoms of a serious illness. In particular, the emergency medical kit is provided to a person that is prone to or at risk of the serious illness and the kit is intended to be used as soon as symptoms of the serious illness appear or are suspected and up until a the person is treated by a trained medical professional.
2. Description of Related Art
It is a particular problem that an unexpected attack of serious illnesses may cause death or serious and irreversible injury. This is particularly a problem during the first moments after the onset of the unexpected attack or symptoms of the illness and up until a time when a trained medical practitioner can medically treat the person. It is well known that prompt medical treatment can greatly reduce the risk of death or of serious permanent injury from an attack of a serious illness. The reason that early treatment of the victim is often successful is that a trained medical practitioner, e.g. in an emergency response team (ERT) or in a hospital, has access to the appropriate equipment and medications that may be needed to save the life of the person or to prevent extensive and irreversible damage to the victim. In heart attack and stroke victims, the main cause of death and or serious permanent injury is mainly due to inadequate oxygenation to affected areas, which may result from reduced blood flow. If prolonged, inadequate oxygenation will lead to death or permanent tissue damage. It is well known that inadequate oxygenation can be relieved by administration of breathable oxygen. Oxygen breathed by a person in trauma increases oxygen saturation in the blood, which decreases the possibility of tissue damage from infarction during an ischemic event caused by an obstruction of blood circulation such as may occur in heart attack or stroke or other arterial illness or condition. Moreover, medications are available that may further benefit a seriously ill patient in crisis during the first moments after the onset of symptoms. However, it is typical that neither oxygen nor a proper medication is readily available to a victim until after trained medical help arrives or until after the victim reaches a hospital. By this time, it may be too late.
United States medical figures show that of the 1.1 million people who suffer heart attacks annually, 40% will die. It is known that some of the fatal heart attack victims may have been saved had they received medical treatment with the first hour after the onset of symptoms. Unfortunately, only one in five Americans who have a heart attack get to a hospital within one hour. The situation is similar with stroke victims. Of the 600,000 Americans that experience a stroke each year, 160,000 of them die and 67% of the survivors suffer from disabilities. Moreover, the risk of stroke increases dramatically as a person ages past 55 years old and is especially increased in elderly women. In both heart attack and stroke, a lack of oxygen results in permanent destruction of tissue or infarction. It is well known that a supply of supplemental oxygen, such as breathable oxygen, can alleviate some of the damage resulting from infarction and that this is often the first medical treatment provided to an apparent heart attack or stroke victim by a medically trained person. It is also well known that various medications including non-prescription medications such as aspirin and nitroglycerin can be beneficial if administered in the first hour after a heart attack or stroke.
Recently is has become more recognized that early medical attention is critical in reducing permanent damage to tissue from a heart attack or a stroke. In addition, there is a recognized need to better educate both the medical community and the general public about the benefits of; early recognition of the symptoms of a heart attack and especially a stroke; and, the early treatment of a heart attack or a stroke in the minutes following the on set of the symptoms. This is especially true for persons that may be prone to, or have a high risk of, suffering a heart attack or a stroke.
Unfortunately, education may not be good enough because the time that it takes for an emergency medical technician, (EMT) to arrive, recognize and treat the symptoms of a heart attack or a stroke victim may be too long. Depending on a victims location, the response period may be between about 15–60 minutes, in an urban location, 1–2 hours in a rural location or more than 2 hours if the victim is aboard an aircraft or sailing vessel. Meanwhile, even if the victim or a bystander recognizes the symptoms there is usually no readily available oxygen supply or medication source that could be used to prevent death or permanent tissue damage during the first hour, as may be essential.
One solution to the problem has been to place portable emergency medical devices such as an automatic external defibrillator, (AED), including electrode paddles and a DC battery or other power supply in public areas such as in commercial buildings, airliners, ships and installed onto emergency response vehicles. These devices may be used to immediately treat a heart attack victim by defibrillating the heart muscle. Such a device may save the victims life, in the first moments after a heart attack. In a recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,497 by Kirchgeorge et al., and assigned to Life Corporation, an emergency medical kit is taught that includes an AED and a breathable oxygen source housed in a portable unitary casing. The '479 kit also includes an oximeter for measuring oxygenation, a pulse meter, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, for providing measurement monitoring, and text display, a voice prompt system and a speaker for providing audio feedback. Although the '497 kit provides an oxygen supply, the inclusion of the AED clearly shows that the device should only be used by a trained medical technician. In addition, the '497 kit does not include any medications.
In general, an AED is provided as an emergency response tool that can save the life of a heart attack victim. However, a portable AED requires a portable power supply and it's use and operations are not obvious to an untrained person. In fact, use of an AED is not recommended for an untrained person. It is another shortcoming of an AED that treatment cannot be self-administered. The portable power and electronics of the AED are expensive to manufacture and difficult to use. Accordingly, an emergency medical kit that includes an AED tends to be expensive and therefore not readily available for home use or generally available to a person prone to or at risk of a heart attack or a stroke. Moreover, any kit containing an AED is complex and not likely to be usable by the victim.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a simple low cost and portable emergency medical kit that could save the live of a heart attack or a stroke victim during the first hour after the onset of symptoms. Ideally, the medical kit will be readily affordable for a person prone to or at risk of having a heart attack or a stroke or another serious illness for which early medical treatment could save the life of, or prevent permanent damage to, the victim. Moreover, the medical kit and the treatment should be self-administrable if the victim is alone. Furthermore, the emergency medical kit should be able to be stored and used in the home, an automobile, or any other vehicle and should allow the patient to carry the kit wherever the patient may decide to travel.
Several examples exist for a simple and portable emergency medical kit and carrying case for providing breathable oxygen and some of these are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,207,303, 4,197,842 and 4,438,764. However, these references appear to be directed only to use by a trained medical professional and none of these references includes the use or storage of any medications to be administered to or self-administered by a person displaying symptoms of a serious illness such as a heart attack or a stroke.